Minnesota-born actor Linda Kelsey reflects on her television career, including her role as reporter Billie Newman on Lou Grant (1977–1982) and her guest appearance on M*A*S*H in 1976. She discusses her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, her work across television, and how the writers and directors of Lou Grant tackled controversial social topics that helped give the series lasting cultural significance.

Linda and Cynthia discuss Billie Newman’s importance as representation of women in the male-dominated field of journalism post-Watergate, her on-screen relationship with Margaret Pynchon, and her off-screen connection with Nancy Marchand.

Linda revisits the controversy surrounding Ed Asner’s political statements and the show’s cancellation, then shares her enduring passion for acting—especially live theater, where the immediate response of an audience makes every performance unique.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Book — (1996) Lou Grant: The Making of TV’s Top Newspaper Drama by Douglass Daniel.

Advanced TV Herstory episodes -

TV Writer April Smith on Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey and Storytelling (2017) https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/646f4a94-f444-4ab9-b351-058a23238b0f.mp3

Mrs. America and TV's Dimensional Feminism (featuring April Smith in 2020) https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/e0f75b62-4be6-4857-9a15-cf9fe3f5465c.mp3

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Monthly Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

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LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-bemis-abrams-5046573/

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Video Editing - https://nivialopez.com/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

TIMESTAMPS

[01:14] Introduction: Linda Kelsey

[03:38] Leaving Hollywood for Minnesota

[06:05] Working in the theater

[10:01] Lou Grant (1977-1982)

[11:47] Becoming Billie Newman

[17:45] Representation of working women

[23:32] Day by Day with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

[24:49] M*A*S*H" and the evolution of Margaret Houlihan

[28:44] Women writers and harassment

[34:35] Storytelling and real-life issues

[38:19] Nancy Marchand, Mrs. Pynchon & Katharine Graham

[41:09] Ed Asner, Ronald Reagan, and the "Lou Grant" cancellation

[47:17] Billie Newman's TV legacy

Linda Kelsey, Lou Grant, Billie Newman, women in television, women journalists on TV, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, Ed Asner, Nancy Marchand, television history, classic TV interviews, female representation in media, live theater, Advanced TV Herstory